'Presumably the USA can expect Britain to continue doing its sheep impression, mindlessly following wherever America leads.'

Helen Angove tried to take part in the General Election from across the pond.

A few of weeks ago, a fellow ex-pat turned to me and asked 'who is the leader of the Opposition now, anyway?' - and to my shame, I couldn’t answer.

After that, I made a determined effort to keep myself informed with the run-up to the General Election. Which, with the help of the internet, is surprisingly easy.

bbc.co.uk kept us up to date with the news and allowed us to listen to current affairs programmes - wonderful to hear Jeremy Paxman, James Naughtie and Andrew Marr again.

We have not come across journalists of their calibre in the US - who would have thought I‘d ever find myself missing Andrew Marr? On election night itself we listened live as the results came in - I was reminded just how much the style of election night coverage is part of UK culture.

Just listen to the Monty Python 'Election Night Special' sketch - still as pertinent now as when it was written.

Involved

In short, we have been about as involved with the General Election as it is possible to be in another country.

Other, that is, than actually voting…

We congratulated ourselves on having registered for postal votes well in advance - but our ballot papers never actually arrived. I write this on the day after the election, and we are still waiting. It’s a bit late now.

As a dutiful but rarely enthusiastic voter I am surprised by how upset I feel - as if I have been denied a basic human right. Which I suppose I have. Perhaps someone found out we weren’t planning to vote for Blair…

Outside of our own little bubble of election fever, the reaction of the US could hardly have been less interested. Never mind that their one solid ally has had a major election - the headline jostles for space with the story of the bride who faked her own abduction the night before her wedding (with 600 guests, 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen who can blame her?) and the man who found a severed fingertip in his dessert in a restaurant, and refused to give it back to the employee to whom it belonged in order for it to be re-attached.

Well-informed

An unrepresentative few of our friends have shown themselves to be extraordinarily well-informed - better informed than I was about the American political system. Other than that, though, there is nowhere near the level of interest that you would find in the UK over an American presidential election.

The strongest reaction we have heard is mild surprise that Blair is still in power after the Iraq fiasco. It is hard to explain to people here how the British electoral system works - how it is possible for a leader to loose a significant amount of popularity but still get in if his party gets in - unlike in the US where in a presidential election you vote directly for the national party candidate.

Maybe if there had been any serious threat to the status quo (had, for example, the Opposition threatened to remove British soldiers from Iraq) there would have been more interest.

But, unsurprisingly, Blair has got in again, and the 'special relationship' is unthreatened. Presumably the USA can expect Britain to continue doing its sheep impression, mindlessly following wherever America leads.

As an (American) friend commented in mild defence of Blair (re: the Iraq war issue); 'would it be politically expedient for anyone to say no to the rabid 800 lb Gorilla?'

Helen Angove is a former Anglican priest from the UK who moved to California in July 2003.

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